Geneva – Workwide City

Geneva – the heart of knowledge exchange in Europe

Situated in the heart of Europe, Geneva has long been a hub for high-level international business, drawn to the unique conditions offered by our city: beautiful setting, ease of access, excellent infrastructure, exceptional business opportunities and a huge network of innovative entrepreneurs and global decision makers.

We are proud to have been named the ‘World’s Most Liveable City’ by scientists from the National University of Singapore, University of California and Curtin University in Australia. In addition, the World Economic Forum has ranked Switzerland as the most competitive country in the world – for the seventh consecutive year. Switzerland also leads, and for the fifth consecutive year, the Global Innovation Index, established by the World Intellectual Property Organization, INSEAD and Cornell University.

Today our economy is thriving. We are home to high value-added clusters not only in banking and finance, commodities trading and trade finance, but also in biotech and medtech, flavours and fragrance, cleantech, watchmaking and luxury goods, microtechnologies and ICT. It is a testimony to the exceptional business opportunities and framework conditions that Geneva offers. As a knowledge hub, an extraordinary amount of brainpower is packed into our small territory: in addition to our top-ranked universities, research institutions and medical facilities, we are developing innovative approaches to knowledge exchange and collaborative working in life sciences with the creation of Campus Biotech. We are also home to two of the largest scientific projects ever launched: the Large Hadron Collider at CERN and the new Human Brain Project.

At the heart of global governance with 35 international organisations and 250 NGOs including the UN, the WHO and the WTO headquartered in the city and 168 nations (169 including Switzerland) represented in Geneva by a permanent mission or similar, it is a truly international hub. These organisations not only form part of our long tradition of meetings, but their presence offers unparalleled opportunities for knowledge exchange and networking. We offer the largest congress and exhibition capacity in Switzerland and a first rate hotel infrastructure with 122 hotels and 9,600 hotel rooms, including Switzerland’s largest hotel.

As you are about to discover, whether in terms of infrastructure, innovation, education, human resources, labour market or quality of life, Geneva really is your best business and meetings location.

On behalf of Geneva’s government, I hope to have the pleasure of welcoming you to our region.

Pierre Maudet
State Councillor
Department of Security and the Economy, Geneva

Pierre Maudet, State Councillor, Department of Security and the Economy, Geneva

Meet in Geneva

Home to the European headquarters of the United Nations and its specialised agencies, the WHO and more than 280 international organisations and NGOs, Geneva has a long tradition of hosting international meetings.

Geneva’s enviable infrastructure offers the largest hotel and catering capacity in Switzerland, and meetings facilities for both small meetings and large congresses with exhibitions in purpose-built, ultra-modern world-class design centres

International Conference Centre Geneva (CICG)

Ideally situated just off the Place des Nations (UN), within easy reach of the principal international organisations in Geneva, the International Conference Centre Geneva (CICG) offers versatile meeting space for up to 2,200. The spacious lobby is perfect for exhibitions, receptions and banquets and connects to the outside terrace. Just a few steps away from the CICG, the recently renovated CCV offers capacity for up to 150.

/ 22 conference rooms from 20 to 2,200 seats
/ 8 rooms equipped for interpretation
/ 39 offices
/ 4,000 sqm of exhibition space
/ M!P Restaurant – 600 seats, a terrace of 800 sqm plus a bar
/ CCV overview: 5 conference rooms from 20 to 150 seats; one room with 4 interpretation booths; 4 offices; 160 sqm of exhibition space; 1 restaurant area

www.cicg.ch

Palexpo – live space

Palexpo is one of Switzerland’s largest, fully-integrated international convention and exhibition centres. Just a ten-minute walk or two minutes by direct bus from the international airport and its underground railway station, Palexpo is a 15-minute drive from downtown Geneva.

More than 1,500 hotel rooms across all categories can be found in the immediate vicinity. Palexpo has a distinguished track record of hosting large-scale international annual events, such as the Geneva International Motor Show, The European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition, Vitafoods International and many major rotating international congresses.

/ 106,000 sqm of exhibit space
/ 40 newly refurbished meeting rooms, seating from 10 to 2,500 in each
/ Additional conference rooms with unlimited seating capacities can be built in an exhibition hall

www.palexpo.com

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International Conference Centre Geneva (CICG)

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Palexpo – live space

Connecting communities

Geneva has all the ingredients needed to make a biocluster efficient, says Dr Benoit Dubuis, director of the Foundation Campus Biotech and president of the BioAlps association.

The Lake Geneva region is the ‘Number one cluster for life sciences research in continental Europe,’ according to Science magazine. The biotech and medtech sectors in BioAlps are experiencing double-digit annual growth with Geneva’s competence in pharmaceuticals, chemistry, biotechnology, microtechnology, precision instruments and medical devices continuing to attract multinational healthcare and life science companies.

Dr Benoit Dubuis, president of the BioAlps association, says that it is this combination of disciplines that gives the cluster its edge: “The healthcare sector today is integrated with multi-disciplinary approaches; we have all these competencies here, developed at the universities and prestigious research institutions such as UNIGE, hepia and EPFL. These are bases for generating innovation and growth. We also have a highly specialised workforce and a very efficient financial sector in Geneva, which are keys to the success of our cluster. Geneva has all the ingredients that make a biocluster efficient.”

Also executive director of the new centre of excellence Campus Biotech Geneva, and development director of the Wyss Centre, Dr Dubuis explains the mission of the new eco system created at Campus Biotech: “Campus Biotech is a new centre of excellence in biotechnology and life science research. It focuses on pure science and its translation into practical outcomes that have an impact on society and the world. Campus Biotech is expected to generate a vast range of opportunities, bringing impetus and investment to this vital economic and scientific sector.” This new ecosystem is benefiting both start-ups and scale-ups, and the Wyss Centre offers resources and expertise to accelerate progress from neuroscience research to clinical solutions in order to improve the lives of people with nervous system disorders. “For example, we hire highly experienced people in fields such as manufacturing, IP and regulation, which can really help new projects and start-ups. A lot of start-ups have highly motivated and innovative people who do not necessarily understand industry requirements. This makes a real difference.

The sector relies on a vibrant community, which collaborates and meets around conferences. Campus Biotech itself hosts many major conferences

says Dr Dubuis, adding that, for him, it is the spirit of Geneva that makes it so good for meetings: “We have a lot of international institutions, people come here ready to talk and discuss, to meet and plan for success. Geneva is easy to access, and we have the infrastructure. Connectivity is vital, with Europe and the world; congresses are definitely one of the best ways to connect the communities. We want to create a Pavlovian response, so that when people think about life sciences and healthcare, they think about the Health Valley.”

BioAlps

Geneva is part of BioAlps, the most diversified life science cluster in the world. The BioAlps cluster ranks among the top three world centres for added-value growth for the life science industry, along with Shanghai in the People’s Republic of China and Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

/ 935 biotechnology, pharma, medtech, nutrition, cosmetics, services, associations and investing companies
/ 500 private and public research laboratories
/ 39 research institutions, universities and university hospitals with relevant capabilities and expertise
/ 51 private and public innovation support mechanisms (start-up incubators, science parks, technology transfer offices, promotion offices, coaching entities, venture capital funds and innovation accelerators)
/ 7 cantonal support organisms
/ 26,000 professionals employed by the industry and 5,000 researchers and scientists in the life sciences

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Connecting communities

Geneva has all the ingredients needed to make a biocluster efficient, says Dr Benoit Dubuis, director of the Foundation Campus Biotech and president of the BioAlps association.

The Lake Geneva region is the ‘Number one cluster for life sciences research in continental Europe,’ according to Science magazine. The biotech and medtech sectors in BioAlps are experiencing double-digit annual growth with Geneva’s competence in pharmaceuticals, chemistry, biotechnology, microtechnology, precision instruments and medical devices continuing to attract multinational healthcare and life science companies.

Dr Benoit Dubuis, president of the BioAlps association, says that it is this combination of disciplines that gives the cluster its edge: “The healthcare sector today is integrated with multi-disciplinary approaches; we have all these competencies here, developed at the universities and prestigious research institutions such as UNIGE, hepia and EPFL. These are bases for generating innovation and growth. We also have a highly specialised workforce and a very efficient financial sector in Geneva, which are keys to the success of our cluster. Geneva has all the ingredients that make a biocluster efficient.”

Also executive director of the new centre of excellence Campus Biotech Geneva, and development director of the Wyss Centre, Dr Dubuis explains the mission of the new eco system created at Campus Biotech: “Campus Biotech is a new centre of excellence in biotechnology and life science research. It focuses on pure science and its translation into practical outcomes that have an impact on society and the world. Campus Biotech is expected to generate a vast range of opportunities, bringing impetus and investment to this vital economic and scientific sector.” This new ecosystem is benefiting both start-ups and scale-ups, and the Wyss Centre offers resources and expertise to accelerate progress from neuroscience research to clinical solutions in order to improve the lives of people with nervous system disorders. “For example, we hire highly experienced people in fields such as manufacturing, IP and regulation, which can really help new projects and start-ups. A lot of start-ups have highly motivated and innovative people who do not necessarily understand industry requirements. This makes a real difference.

The sector relies on a vibrant community, which collaborates and meets around conferences. Campus Biotech itself hosts many major conferences

says Dr Dubuis, adding that, for him, it is the spirit of Geneva that makes it so good for meetings: “We have a lot of international institutions, people come here ready to talk and discuss, to meet and plan for success. Geneva is easy to access, and we have the infrastructure. Connectivity is vital, with Europe and the world; congresses are definitely one of the best ways to connect the communities. We want to create a Pavlovian response, so that when people think about life sciences and healthcare, they think about the Health Valley.”

BioAlps

Geneva is part of BioAlps, the most diversified life science cluster in the world. The BioAlps cluster ranks among the top three world centres for added-value growth for the life science industry, along with Shanghai in the People’s Republic of China and Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

/ 935 biotechnology, pharma, medtech, nutrition, cosmetics, services, associations and investing companies
/ 500 private and public research laboratories
/ 39 research institutions, universities and university hospitals with relevant capabilities and expertise
/ 51 private and public innovation support mechanisms (start-up incubators, science parks, technology transfer offices, promotion offices, coaching entities, venture capital funds and innovation accelerators)
/ 7 cantonal support organisms
/ 26,000 professionals employed by the industry and 5,000 researchers and scientists in the life sciences

We have a lot of scientists and brains; it’s a great place to meet with people” Frederick Bordry, CERN

Discovering
the unknown

CERN is where physicists and engineers investigate the fundamental structure of the universe. Frederick Bordry, director of accelerators and technology, helps to explain.

One of Europe’s first joint ventures, the world-famous European Organization for Nuclear Research CERN, is a byword in innovation, underlined by The Global Innovation Index 2016 report, a leading reference on innovation, which cites CERN as an example of a highly

successful international initiative.

CERN’s main area of research is particle physics. The discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 and the Nobel prize in 2013 catapulted CERN to international prominence. Today more people than ever want to visit; of the 100,000 per year able to do so, another 200,000 are disappointed.

Frederick Bordry, director of accelerators and technology CERN, explains: “We are a centre of innovation, we put a lot of people together. On site we have 2,400 staff, 1,600 PhD holders, serving a community of 13,000 users. At any given moment there are 7 or 8,000 people on the CERN site. For anyone wishing to work in an international way, this is a great place to visit.”

For anyone hosting a meeting in Geneva, a visit to CERN offers a huge plus; Bordry points out that around 10-15 large congresses per year request a visit. CERN’s location is a key part of its success, according to Bordry: “It is very important for us to be here as Geneva is so international. We have a lot of contact with the WMO, WIPO and many other international organisations in Geneva. For me, Geneva is the heart of Europe. It’s easy to access, it’s a really nice city and it has all the international organisations, the research institutes, universities and HUG. We have a lot of scientists and brains; it’s a great place to meet with people.”

CERN

/ Europe’s first scientific international organisation, founded in 1954, CERN is both a first-class centre for fundamental research and a pioneering adventure in international collaboration with 22 member states
/ With more than 13,000 scientists from around 100 countries, CERN is a laboratory for the world
/ Engineering for CERN, especially in cryogenics, superconductivity, vacuum, microelectronics and civil engineering, gives companies experience and technologies that they can apply elsewhere
/ The World Wide Web was invented at CERN to help particle physicists around the world to communicate. Now CERN is the central hub of a ‘computing grid’ that harnesses vast amounts of computer power through networks across the world

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Blockchain hub and sustainable investments

Geneva is fast becoming a blockchain hub and pioneer in the field of public support for initial coin offerings (ICOs)

Geneva is an international centre of innovation in the field of blockchain. It has initiated various pilot projects – both in the public and private sectors – using distributed ledger technologies, which are being brought from laboratory to market through a new high-level gathering named Geneva Annual Blockchain Congress.

Geneva is home of the Swiss Blockchain Association, aiming to federate national blockchain players, extend the blockchain community and position Geneva as a leader in this segment.

Geneva also launched a Blockchain Lab program, an open platform that provides support, training and expertise to entrepreneurs developing blockchain applications, including projects that significantly modify existing business models.

For example, 15 of the world’s major companies recently formed a new venture in Geneva known as Komgo, with the objective to digitalise the trade and commodities finance sector through a blockchain-based open platform.

In parallel with blockchain, Geneva has drafted a guide to support and evaluate ICO (initial coin offering) projects interested in launching on its territory, regardless of their state of advancement.

This world first aims to support ICO project leaders in their search for the best launch pad for their activities, while ensuring consistency within the administration and compliance with local legislation.

Geneva’s initiative, which marks the development of a ‘Blockchain Valley’ in Western Switzerland, is also supported by a centre of expertise consisting of local specialists in the legal, academic, technical, marketing, tax, banking, compliance and public sector fields. In addition to keeping information up-to-date, these experts are responsible for monitoring the ICOs, ie sorting out the projects and taking into account their operational aspects to facilitate the implementation process as much as possible.

Geneva thus provides entrepreneurs with clear procedures and the possibility of promoting their issuance of tokens, whether the latter is in progress or already completed. It also proposes to put stakeholders in contact, according to their needs, with relevant actors in the local ecosystem.

Geneva, the future Silicon Valley of the responsible economy

One third of sustainable investments worldwide are generated by the Swiss financial sector, a performance to which Geneva actively contributes.

As the most active multilateral governance centre in the world and the global operational base for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the canton of Geneva is a key crossroads for green and social finance. Geneva’s unique know-how in this field is still relatively unknown beyond diplomatic circles and some insiders.

The State’s authorities are working to raise awareness among the general public regarding this exceptional ecosystem, the engine of unprecedented synergies that is reflected in the International Network of Sustainable Financial Centres (FC4S), which in April 2018 chose Geneva as the host of its global headquarters.

This new institution, the result of a public-private partnership at the local, national and international level, perfectly complements Geneva’s network of fintech start-ups and microfinance specialists, to which is added a unique density of more traditional actors, from the academic, banking and innovation worlds in the broad sense.

The competitiveness of Geneva’s financial centre is based on innovation and openness to new models, particularly those based on cutting-edge technologies. This is precisely one of the projects carried out by the Sustainable Finance Geneva association, an entity supported by the city. In this case, the idea is to promote a dialogue between institutions willing to invest and companies that generate positive social and environmental impacts. Geneva, in part thanks to the political vision of its authorities, has the potential to become a ‘Silicon Valley’ of the responsible and inclusive economy.

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